Maria Sharapova to miss Rio 2016 as appeal against doping ban is delayed

Maria Sharapova will not learn the result of her appeal against a two-year ban for doping until September 19, meaning the Russian will definitely miss the Olympics.

The 29-year-old five-time Grand Slam champion was suspended after testing positive for meldonium at the Australian Open in January, but appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland in June, claiming she did not know the drug had been banned at the start of 2016.

A decision on that appeal was expected to come next week, which would have given her the chance to compete in Rio had she been successful.

However, all parties have agreed to the delay so further evidence can be gathered and thoroughly reviewed.

A statement from CAS read: “Due to the parties requiring additional time to complete and respond to their respective evidentiary submissions, and several scheduling conflicts, the parties have agreed not to expedite the appeal. A decision is expected to be issued by September 19 2016.”